LONDON (Chatnewstv.com) — Direct high-speed rail travel between London and major German cities is a step closer to reality after Eurostar and Deutsche Bahn (DB) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to explore a joint service, officials announced Thursday.
The partnership aims to launch direct routes between London, Cologne, and Frankfurt in the early 2030s, offering a faster, greener alternative to flying and boosting economic ties between the two nations.
The agreement comes as German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier concludes a three-day state visit to the United Kingdom, during which he joined Prime Minister Keir Starmer and the Chancellor at a roundtable with business leaders to bolster economic cooperation.
New Routes and Greener Travel
The proposed routes would connect city center to city center, with expected travel times of approximately four hours to Cologne and just over five hours to Frankfurt.
The service is slated to use Eurostar’s new Celestia double-decker fleet, which offers 20% more capacity and up to 50% in energy savings compared with the existing trains.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer celebrated the announcement, saying the link would place “Britain at the heart of a better-connected Europe” and pave the way for increased trade, tourism, and investment.
“Transport is just one of the many ways this government is investing in international relationships to cut the cost of living back home,” Starmer said.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander described the partnership as having the “potential to transform cross border rail travel in Europe for generations to come.”
“A direct rail link will support the creation of jobs, strengthen vital trade links and build a sustainable connection that will make international travel easier and greener,” Alexander added.
Partnership and Growth
The MoU follows the first meeting of a joint UK-Germany taskforce on Nov. 25 in Berlin, which brought together transport experts from both governments and industries to address barriers to international rail services.
Gwendoline Cazenave, CEO of Eurostar, emphasized the collaborative nature of the project. “By combining Eurostar’s cross-channel know-how and new fleet with DB’s strong presence in Germany, we’re creating a whole new level of connectivity and convenience for our customers,” Cazenave said, adding that the partnership will help power Eurostar’s goal of carrying 30 million passengers across its network.
Michael Peterson, DB-Vorstand Personenfernverkehr, expressed confidence in the project’s potential. “Europe is coming together ever more closely by rail. In cooperation with Eurostar, we also want to bring Germany and the UK closer together at high speed,” he stated.
The UK Department for Transport noted the direct link is expected to kickstart the UK economy, create British jobs, and strengthen trade links by providing easier access to European markets.
